How can we work together? **edited for another mass shooting**

Dear lovely compatriots,

So here we are again, my loves. Another mass shooting. Not a law has been passed, nor a loophole closed. The NRA knows what it is doing. This time the violence targeted a minority group, so again, nothing is going to happen. I mean, we know it's not, after Sandy Hook. If we can't examine our hearts and laws after Sandy Hook, when precious children died, then nothing is going to happen today. And it breaks my heart. I used to have faith that good would prevail, but I'm losing it. Day after day after day after day of mass shootings. I have a FB friend who updates his status every time there is a mass shooting and it's every fucking day, sometimes twice. We are better than this, my friends. We have to be. We need to start demanding to have a conversation that starts and ends with a prayer, or a moment of silence, for the victims of gun violence. http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/last-72-hours. This website will show you how many people have been killed or injured in the last 3 days. It includes the Orlando shootings. Read the list and remember that every single one of those victims is someone's motherfathersisterbrotherauntunclesondaughterfriendcitizenhuman. Shame on us for not demanding change. Shame on us for accepting the death of innocents.

*Start of original text* I'm going to piss many of you off. You may not want to be my friend anymore, and that makes me sad. I am tired, though, of having my voice drowned out. The gun violence situation in this country is out of control. We all know it, to varying degrees. It's explained away by mental illness, or jihadism or evil. Mental illness, terrorism and most especially, evil, are not new concepts, realities or facts. They have existed as long as people have. I do not challenge the idea that people with an agenda will do bad things with whatever tool is at hand. 9/11 and Oklahoma City happened with nary an automatic weapon in sight and they were events that were catastrophic and life-changing and terrible, in the full-meaning of that word. But Columbine and Sandy Hook and Aurora and Charleston and New Orleans and Colorado Springs and San Bernardino and all of the other mass shootings are no less terrible. They terrorize all of us, whether we admit it or not.

As a child, I did not go to school concerned about someone opening fire in the cafeteria. Now, I have a kid with a plan on how to get out of school, in case of a mass shooting. There is one class that causes this kid concern because it would be hard to escape from that class. This is a cause of anxiety to my child, my heart of hearts. And if my kid is worried about it, your kid is worried about it. Maybe not actively, or outwardly, but it lurks somewhere inside. We wonder why there is an increase in children with mental illness, maybe it is a society that turns its eye blindly against the violence that stalks its own.

I'm not going to quote statistics to you, because that's not my gift, but you can go to http://www.bradycampaign.org/key-gun-violence-statistics, to get some info. I'm sure some of you will consider that a biased organization, but it's an organization born out of gun violence and facts are facts(yes, I know statistics can be used to make any argument, but I'm writing this, so I get to choose my source). So, what is the source of all this gun violence? Some say it's the availability of military/"assault"-style weapons(here's a Salon article about the difficulty in pinning down just how many there are--which is a scary thought in itself: http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2012/12/20/assault_rifle_stats_how_many_assault_rifles_are_there_in_america.html). Some say it's the breakdown of the family and our loss of Christian values and everyone points the finger.

I am going to point that finger back at me, and all of us, who have been upset by the death toll and have prayed to God or asked the Universe or made offerings to Buddha to stop this violence, but have not taken action. When we accept the status quo of gun violence in America and refuse to listen to alternatives, whether they involve gun control or not, we become the violence. When we refuse to engage in conversation and only throw out talking points, we become the violence. When we let ourselves be silenced, whether it's to avoid conflict, or save friendships, or any. other. reason. we become the violence. I don't want to be a part of it anymore. I am so, so tired of the terrible toll gun violence is taking on our children and our country. Let's talk about solutions. I want to hear yours, I hope you'll hear mine, there has to be another way.

I love all of you and I trust we can find a solution together. Please post any comments that are positive, solutions-driven, love-fostering, status quo-challenging. I reserve the right to delete any comments that I feel are widening the divide between us. Kindness first.

Love,
Corks